J. Hamilton Lewis

James Hamilton Lewis (May 18, 1863 – April 9, 1939) was the first Senator to hold the title of Whip in the United States Senate. Lewis was born in Danville, Virginia, and also grew up in Augusta, Georgia. He was educated at the University of Virginia and studied law in Savannah, Georgia before he served in the Spanish-American War.

Congressional career

Lewis was one of a very few politicians to represent two states in the United States Congress. Lewis represented Washington (1897–1899) in the United States House of Representatives and went on to serve Illinois (1913–1919, 1931–1939) in the United States Senate as a member of the Democratic Party. Lewis served as Majority Whip from 1913 until 1919. At some point in his congressional career, he became known to colleagues as "Ham".

A close ally of President Woodrow Wilson, Lewis was a leader in getting much of Wilson's "New Freedom" legislation passed. Upon his defeat for reelection in '18, Lewis was offered the ambassadorship to Belgium by the President, but he declined and returned to his private legal practice in Illinois.

He would hold the Majority Whip position again from 1933 until his death in 1939. He was defeated for reelection to the Senate in 1918, but regained his seat in the election in 1930. He ran unsuccessfully for governor of Illinois in 1908 and 1920, and continued to serve as Minority Whip in the Senate during the Depression and the New Deal era. Lewis won his last Senate...
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